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Facilitating Spoken Morphology Development in Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Award Number: K99DC024195
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/10/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2028

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Facilitating Spoken Morphology Development in Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing - Despite recent advances in early identification, intervention, and amplification technology like cochlear implants, children who are deaf/hard-of-hearing (DHH) are at substantial risk of spoken language delays, putting them at short- and long-term disadvantages over their hearing peers. Many children who are DHH show persistent difficulties with spoken morphology (e.g., past tense -ed, plural -s). However, we have limited understanding of specific factors that facilitate morphology learning in the DHH children, and there is a paucity of high-quality, evidence-based interventions for remediating their deficits. This is highly problematic, given that language deficits such as these can have a negative downstream effect on later language, literacy, social, and academic outcomes. To address this public health problem, one strategy is to adapt an intervention for hearing children to the specific needs of DHH children. One such intervention, Enhanced Conversational Recast (ECR), is a promising option. It effectively remediates morphological deficits in hearing children with development language disorder. Two small-scale studies suggest that ECR may improve morphological development in children who are DHH. However, their post-treatment outcomes fall short of those of their hearing peers, suggesting that ECR has not yet been optimally adapted for children who are DHH. Aims 1 and 2 of the proposed research is to examine factors that facilitate morphology learning in children who are DHH using artificial grammar learning paradigms. They will provide insight into the mechanisms underlying morphology learning in this population. Aim 3 scales up these factors to a natural language learning context. Specifically, we will conduct a randomized controlled trial assessing the superiority of an augmented version of ECR with modifications that meet specific needs of DHH children against a basic version of ECR without modifications. Addressing these aims will provide insight into factors that support morphological development in children who are DHH and will expand the evidence base of interventions to support their development in this area. This proposed career development grant will provide the applicant with critical training in 1) the DHH population; 2) clinical trials for language interventions; and 3) essential research tools. The proposed training plan will enable the applicant to launch an independent line of research examining mechanisms and interventions for spoken language deficits in hearing and DHH children with language impairments.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $139,102 )
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS	809 S MARSHFIELD AVE M/C 551	CHICAGO	IL	60612	COOK	USA	Research Related to Deafness and Communication Disorders	000	1	7/9/2026	NEW	$139,102
														Subtotal = $139,102

Grand Total All Awards = $139,102

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Facilitating Spoken Morphology Development in Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Award Number: K99DC024195

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DEAFNESS AND OTHER COMMUNICATION DISORDERS

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 07/10/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/30/2028

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